I just watched 2 episodes. Yeah give this a try. It's interesting from the start. I liked some smart comedy lines (after the car accident). The characters are a bit too obvious. I think we get very soon what they want and how their values will interact. Or maybe it's just me because I notice that without really wanting to think about it, but I can feel the strings of the story.
Hahaha. For a Nation and culture obsessed with beauty and with technologies to remove it, they don't. But in nations…
I have the impression that it is a criterion of beauty. Lee Jong Suk for example, he has a mole very close to the eye. And that makes him even more attractive.
Argh!!! So I'm first to respond to the first!! :-D
Mmmmh, hard to say. When I saw the first episode, I was "wooow!!". Then after many more episodes, it was a bit too western feel. Difficulties to find emotions. Although the directing is amazing, I couldn't get a real epic feeling like with "Flower of evil" or even more "Mouse". So Taxi driver is for me a good drama, a bit procedural on some parts, with some "over-the-top" things but hopefully not as much as "Devil Judge". It's now more an average drama in my memory. But nothing so bad. It's watchable. I enjoyed the ride.
Argh!!! So I'm first to respond to the first!! :-D
Ahah there is no reason. I know it's a weird name. I chose that because I wrote a season 2 in korean screenplay format. So anyone interested can look my profile and read it on my blog. ;-)
Queen Hwang Jung Eum acting in one of Kim Soon Ok Makjang stories is gone explode everything she didn't do this…
I need to watch Secret! This actress was so annoying in Kill Me Heal Me and so many other dramas. Barelly ok in Giant, but.... crazy good in Incarnation of Money!! I don't think she's a bad actress, just a style I don't like when she's over-the-top but I don't feel it in the drama. Since IoM, I'm always ready to give her a chance to surprise me in a good way.
High quality article, I salute your dedication. Half of it was useless to write, if the screenwriter had done…
That's right. But since the screenwriter writes a screenplay and not a novel, it's her responsibility to make sure that things happen on the screen. It's a technical document studied for that in the production chain. Finally, the director (who normally has a good understanding of the story) can fix things within certain limits. But having no knowledge of directing, and relying only on my intuition and experience as a viewer, the director seems to have done a good job here.
I don't know if this was planned for multiple seasons. I have to assume not. Reducing the story to 10 episodes is indeed a harsh constraint. The pace of the first 5 episodes would have been satisfying in a 16 episode drama. And the following episodes would allow enough time to reveal everything properly, assuming that the writer does the right thing.
I much preferred Sisyphus which also had the constraint of going from 20 to 16 episodes. The principle was clearer and more focused, more inventive even. But in retrospect, I can say that this drama had serious confusion problems as well. Besides, many viewers turned away from it because of that. However, there were some intense scenes as far as emotion is concerned. And the start hooked fast.
I am disappointed with the result of the writer, but I know that she has done a lot of work for this. The problem is that a story often decides itself, and that we find ourselves in certain dead ends, difficult or impossible to correct. We can just notice afterwards that it is done and hope to do better next time. But if we direct the story too much, it is the opposite problem, it becomes cold, flat and mechanical. That's a bit the impression I have here. Hence this impression of doing complicated, just to do complicated. I would be curious to know her creative process, and how she built all this, but unfortunately it's the kind of information that is very hard to find because the writers never talk about it at length.
Wow! wow! I'm here for that! I usually don't like Hwang Jung Eum because she often overact, but it could be great in a Kim Soon Ok drama. With director Joo Dong Min, it's the dream team.
High quality article, I salute your dedication. Half of it was useless to write, if the screenwriter had done…
Your article convinced me that this drama could have been much better if better rendered. Assuming your explanation is right of course: there are mind-blowing events in the last episode, with the intentions of the two blue ghosts.
Yes, the healing is the scene with the localized time bubble, where the blood goes backwards. When I saw this scene, I immediately understood that SaeHa was alive at the end (especially since he couldn't be a version of the past since it's impossible to travel in time beyond the starting point). So your interpretation that SaeHa is dead seemed strange to me. But I had nothing to propose anyway. I'm not involved enough in the drama because I was pushed away from it. For the blood puddle, I interpreted that it was ManOk's blood puddle. I had noticed when I rewatched the scene that they are looking up to the sky as well. But I didn't remember that the grid had interference if the temporal choice became unstable. And besides, I didn't have time to think about that before. I remember to see the grid become instable after the Ghost leave when jumping, but not much.
The drama is too complicated to redo. The writer was certainly overwhelmed by so many plot points everywhere. Very hard to keep something like this at arm's length. She must have had a brain ache. The structure would have benefited from a faster start. Shorten episodes 2 to 5. Try to gain at least one episode, to start the time mess earlier. This would give time to e xplain a little better, or reinforce some principles with redundant scenes. This was done for the fact that SaeHa is not the son of the Janitor. Unfortunately too late. But it helped a little. I counted another scene after that. Then another one, beginning of episode 9. There is a discussion between SB and SH, rather long. Here, pure "Tell", 100% explanation and information and nothing else. With more time, regular additions of explanations and a little redundancy would have made it all understandable, even without this scene.
Your article sums up two principles of screenwriting well. "Show don't tell" and "Every scene advances the plot". However, there are other important principles. Such as "never confuse the audience". As well as "provide proof of concept". And of course "don't be boring". And some others.
"Show don't tell" is one of the most misunderstood concepts, even among screenwriters. For example, you can "show" something, and at the same time reinforce it with "tell" if necessary. It is also misunderstood in script writing because some people think that because of this, it is not possible to describe the inner state of the character or the tone (mood) of the scene. But it is useful for the actors and the director. As long as it is not overused. In truth, "show don't tell" applies mostly to the resolution of meaning and actions on screen, more than the actual writing.
"Every scene advances the plot", a scene objective can be something else too. Character revelation, new information, theme development for example. And in some cases, just a comedy or emotional scene with little impact on the plot. When we consider that the audience has seen something that they have not had time to understand, an explanation scene is not useless, it actually brings new information for the audience (but not for the script in the strict sense). If in addition this scene is reinforced by comedy, conflict, emotion or character rendering, it's perfect! Several objectives at once for a scene is better than just one by the way.
This is problematic because I once gave a script for feedback and someone said: take out that scene, it's unnecessary, it's already been said. Unfortunately, that was bad advice. I had created a voluntary redundancy to help the audience. It's very logical at the same time to receive this kind of advice, because at the script level, it's indeed unnecessary. But reading the script makes it easier to see all the details, since only what is important is written. The transition on the screen and the temporal flow of the movie is however different in the perception of the audience. This should never be lost sight of, but unfortunately is too often. And even unintentionally by the writers who try to do so, myself included.
"Never confuse the audience" is an obvious principle. It doesn't matter how clever the work is, if the audience gets confused, they reject everything and stop watching. We see it on this comment thread or on other blogs. It's absurd to blame the audience if they don't understand. The audience came in good faith to have a good time in the first place.
"provide proof of concept": because it's sci-fi, or fantasy, with a high-concept, the rules of the universe must have logic and be sufficiently expressed. Otherwise, the audience is lost and has the impression that anything and everything can be told, and that nothing makes sense. And when this is not done, incomprehensible things pile up on top of each other, the spectator can only make assumptions. A house of cards ready to collapse at any moment. There is a need to have a solid foundation and to state clearly on a regular basis. Not for everything, and not necessarily immediately, but the grey areas need to be cleared.
If the explanation is not given, or is given later, the writer can use a technique that shows the audience that she knows where she is going (to make them wait).
Example: SaeHa is going to spend two months replacing the SaeHa who should be in this time frame (principle of "the character replaces himself"). Impossible to leave this under silence as it is done in the drama. It seems logical to me to include a scene (or a part of a scene) where the character wonders. For example, he's looking to see if there is another SaeHa here. He understands the situation, that he is replacing himself and is certainly surprised by it. This may require a monologue, a voice-over, or showing what he is looking for his other self. But in this way, the audience, even without having the explanation, has the certainty that this is not a plot-hole and that the matter is considered seriously by the scriptwriter. So that there is a rule behind it. This is a (partial) proof of concept, but sufficient at first. It is also possible to add a short scene, just after SaeHa goes back in time, to see the SaeHa who stayed here. Logically, he should have had a two-month amnesia. Showing the character questioning this, or asking his parents what he was doing. And there you have it, we have a pretty much coherent universe. It's not complicated. It's just that the screenwriter must always keep in mind the logical implications of what she's saying and bounce on that, and how it's perceived by the audience. Always put yourself in the audience's point of view, it's very important.
Probably it needed 2 more episodes to spend more time, instead of making a time jump. Or there was nothing related to the main plot to tell at this point.
1 
I liked some smart comedy lines (after the car accident).
The characters are a bit too obvious. I think we get very soon what they want and how their values will interact. Or maybe it's just me because I notice that without really wanting to think about it, but I can feel the strings of the story.
I chose that because I wrote a season 2 in korean screenplay format.
So anyone interested can look my profile and read it on my blog. ;-)
I don't think she's a bad actress, just a style I don't like when she's over-the-top but I don't feel it in the drama. Since IoM, I'm always ready to give her a chance to surprise me in a good way.
Maybe he will be the good guy here?
I don't know if this was planned for multiple seasons. I have to assume not. Reducing the story to 10 episodes is indeed a harsh constraint. The pace of the first 5 episodes would have been satisfying in a 16 episode drama. And the following episodes would allow enough time to reveal everything properly, assuming that the writer does the right thing.
I much preferred Sisyphus which also had the constraint of going from 20 to 16 episodes. The principle was clearer and more focused, more inventive even. But in retrospect, I can say that this drama had serious confusion problems as well. Besides, many viewers turned away from it because of that. However, there were some intense scenes as far as emotion is concerned. And the start hooked fast.
I am disappointed with the result of the writer, but I know that she has done a lot of work for this. The problem is that a story often decides itself, and that we find ourselves in certain dead ends, difficult or impossible to correct. We can just notice afterwards that it is done and hope to do better next time. But if we direct the story too much, it is the opposite problem, it becomes cold, flat and mechanical. That's a bit the impression I have here. Hence this impression of doing complicated, just to do complicated. I would be curious to know her creative process, and how she built all this, but unfortunately it's the kind of information that is very hard to find because the writers never talk about it at length.
Yes, the healing is the scene with the localized time bubble, where the blood goes backwards. When I saw this scene, I immediately understood that SaeHa was alive at the end (especially since he couldn't be a version of the past since it's impossible to travel in time beyond the starting point). So your interpretation that SaeHa is dead seemed strange to me. But I had nothing to propose anyway. I'm not involved enough in the drama because I was pushed away from it.
For the blood puddle, I interpreted that it was ManOk's blood puddle. I had noticed when I rewatched the scene that they are looking up to the sky as well. But I didn't remember that the grid had interference if the temporal choice became unstable. And besides, I didn't have time to think about that before. I remember to see the grid become instable after the Ghost leave when jumping, but not much.
The drama is too complicated to redo. The writer was certainly overwhelmed by so many plot points everywhere. Very hard to keep something like this at arm's length. She must have had a brain ache. The structure would have benefited from a faster start. Shorten episodes 2 to 5. Try to gain at least one episode, to start the time mess earlier. This would give time to e
xplain a little better, or reinforce some principles with redundant scenes.
This was done for the fact that SaeHa is not the son of the Janitor. Unfortunately too late. But it helped a little. I counted another scene after that. Then another one, beginning of episode 9. There is a discussion between SB and SH, rather long. Here, pure "Tell", 100% explanation and information and nothing else. With more time, regular additions of explanations and a little redundancy would have made it all understandable, even without this scene.
Your article sums up two principles of screenwriting well. "Show don't tell" and "Every scene advances the plot". However, there are other important principles. Such as "never confuse the audience". As well as "provide proof of concept". And of course "don't be boring". And some others.
"Show don't tell" is one of the most misunderstood concepts, even among screenwriters. For example, you can "show" something, and at the same time reinforce it with "tell" if necessary. It is also misunderstood in script writing because some people think that because of this, it is not possible to describe the inner state of the character or the tone (mood) of the scene. But it is useful for the actors and the director. As long as it is not overused. In truth, "show don't tell" applies mostly to the resolution of meaning and actions on screen, more than the actual writing.
"Every scene advances the plot", a scene objective can be something else too. Character revelation, new information, theme development for example. And in some cases, just a comedy or emotional scene with little impact on the plot.
When we consider that the audience has seen something that they have not had time to understand, an explanation scene is not useless, it actually brings new information for the audience (but not for the script in the strict sense). If in addition this scene is reinforced by comedy, conflict, emotion or character rendering, it's perfect! Several objectives at once for a scene is better than just one by the way.
This is problematic because I once gave a script for feedback and someone said: take out that scene, it's unnecessary, it's already been said. Unfortunately, that was bad advice. I had created a voluntary redundancy to help the audience. It's very logical at the same time to receive this kind of advice, because at the script level, it's indeed unnecessary. But reading the script makes it easier to see all the details, since only what is important is written. The transition on the screen and the temporal flow of the movie is however different in the perception of the audience. This should never be lost sight of, but unfortunately is too often. And even unintentionally by the writers who try to do so, myself included.
"Never confuse the audience" is an obvious principle. It doesn't matter how clever the work is, if the audience gets confused, they reject everything and stop watching. We see it on this comment thread or on other blogs. It's absurd to blame the audience if they don't understand. The audience came in good faith to have a good time in the first place.
"provide proof of concept": because it's sci-fi, or fantasy, with a high-concept, the rules of the universe must have logic and be sufficiently expressed. Otherwise, the audience is lost and has the impression that anything and everything can be told, and that nothing makes sense. And when this is not done, incomprehensible things pile up on top of each other, the spectator can only make assumptions. A house of cards ready to collapse at any moment. There is a need to have a solid foundation and to state clearly on a regular basis. Not for everything, and not necessarily immediately, but the grey areas need to be cleared.
If the explanation is not given, or is given later, the writer can use a technique that shows the audience that she knows where she is going (to make them wait).
Example: SaeHa is going to spend two months replacing the SaeHa who should be in this time frame (principle of "the character replaces himself"). Impossible to leave this under silence as it is done in the drama. It seems logical to me to include a scene (or a part of a scene) where the character wonders. For example, he's looking to see if there is another SaeHa here. He understands the situation, that he is replacing himself and is certainly surprised by it. This may require a monologue, a voice-over, or showing what he is looking for his other self. But in this way, the audience, even without having the explanation, has the certainty that this is not a plot-hole and that the matter is considered seriously by the scriptwriter. So that there is a rule behind it. This is a (partial) proof of concept, but sufficient at first. It is also possible to add a short scene, just after SaeHa goes back in time, to see the SaeHa who stayed here. Logically, he should have had a two-month amnesia. Showing the character questioning this, or asking his parents what he was doing.
And there you have it, we have a pretty much coherent universe. It's not complicated. It's just that the screenwriter must always keep in mind the logical implications of what she's saying and bounce on that, and how it's perceived by the audience. Always put yourself in the audience's point of view, it's very important.
Or there was nothing related to the main plot to tell at this point.